Recoded Memories
by Nagasha
Summary: "King Candy was a just and honorable leader; the worst thing that His Majesty could do to him would be to send him back out with an apology, a statement of 'it's for the good of the community', and a handful of candy. Really, he had nothing to fear! So… why was he afraid? And why did it feel like he did this before?" Rancis goes to talk to King Candy about the glitch.


**Welp, it's official. I'm a Wrecker. **

**This fanfic started when I saw the Fringe section of Wreck-It Ralph on Tvtropes, and I saw this entry under horror: "Imagine living under a divine-right monarchy where you were certain, with every fiber of your being, that the monarch was indeed the L-rd's anointed, and that it was your sacred duty to your Creator to obey your sovereign, even unto death. Then imagine waking up one day to realize that the throne had been seized by a usurper, and that you had turned traitor and actively aided the usurper against your rightful ruler, whom you had spat upon, reviled, and tormented. Now realize how the citizens of Sugar Rush must have felt at the end, when the game reset. How could any of them hold their heads up ever again?"**

**It made a lot of sense to me, since Turbo is such a Primodonna that he'd probably change the code not to question him, I spliced it with my own headcannon that whenever one of the racers came to him with a complaint, he just erased their memory of it, and this little story was born.**

**Wreck-It Ralph is not mine, although I can't think of anything I'd change about it if it was.**

Rancis walked up the steps of the castle, trying to squash the feelings of worry he felt. King Candy was a just and honorable leader; the worst thing that His Majesty could do to him would be to send him back out with an apology, a statement of 'it's for the good of the community', and a handful of candy. Really, he had nothing to fear!

So… why was he afraid? And why did it feel like he did this before?

Finally, he made it to the throne room. It was opulent- just like the king deserved- and also very pi- _salmon_, it was very salmon. The king did not like being questioned on this, nor should he be. He was old and they were young, he was experienced and they were not, he was the best racer in the land. He should not be questioned, for he knew all.

Still… Rancis bit his lip; it had to be worth a shot. It wasn't that King Candy didn't think of this route- he was too wise not to think of everything- but perhaps… he just thought that the others wouldn't accept his judgment as fair and true?

That must be it! His Majesty knew all, true, but he is humble and modest; he didn't understand that all of his children thought- no, _knew_- him to be correct in all matters!

Just then, the king came racing in on his cream-colored cart- the fastest cart of them all, not that he expected anything else- and tested Rancis's reflexes by nearly running him over. After all, King Candy would never put one of his subjects' lives at risk if he didn't believe them capable to avoid it.

When His Majesty backed the cart into the throne, Rancis bowed. "King Candy, I…" Suddenly, he lost his nerve. Why was he questioning the king? He knew so much more than a lowly racer like himself.

Rancis felt the king's eyes on his. "Oh, for goodness sakes Rancis! Out with it already! I have a very busy schedule, you know. Plenty of kingly duties that need doing!"

Rancis felt his cheeks burn a dark brown. "Of course, your majesty. I was only wondering about Vanell- About the glitch." Oh peanut butter cups, he almost said the name! King Candy _hated it_ when they mentioned the glitch by name- as if she was a real part of the game, and not a coding error.

King Candy's eyes narrowed, and there was something dark and bitter in his smile- like dark chocolate, without the sweetness to it. Of course, that was all in Rancis's head, as His Majesty would _never_ look at any of his children in that way.

"What about the glitch?" King Candy asked, voice as smooth as caramel. "Has it been causing trouble for the racers again?"

Rancis didn't like the king calling Vanellope an it- of course, he was right when he called her that, but it still didn't seem very nice- but he just took a deep breath, continuing on. King Candy would understand once he explained his idea. "No. You see, Gloyd heard from Jack- the king in that Halloween game he goes to- that there was a special code to change the code of the game. And, I just thought-" he broke off, embarrassed.

His Majesty understood what he meant, however. "You want to change the code of Sugar Rush, to make the glitch a real racer?" He asked, incredulous. Rancis bowed his head, cheeks a dark brown from the peanut butter rushing to them. "Well… no. Just to make her not a glitch. She'd have to go into the Random Roster Race like all the rest of us."

"And how would it make a cart? Or get a coin?" King Candy asked, his voice as sweet and syrupy as molasses. Rancis stood there, flustered. "Well, I just figured that I'd-"

"Rancis, Rancis, Rancis." King Candy tut-tuted, waving a finger in the boy's face. "Have you been hanging around the glitch again?"

"She has a name." Rancis growled, before realizing who he was addressing. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry! Don't send me to the Fungeon!"

"All is forgiven." King Candy said, waving his hand. Rancis breathed a sigh of relief, before King Candy continued. "As long as you cease your contact with the glitch, of course."

Rancis stiffened. Stay away from Vanellope? But... he liked being around her. She was intelligent, and had a sense of humor more bittersweet than everybody else's, which was welcome. Rancis loved his fellow racers, but Vanellope was a welcome change from the sugary sweetness of the rest of the game. Besides, she didn't see him as just a pretty boy, which he knew the others often did.

He voiced his concerns to the king, who sadly sighed at them. "Oh, Rancis… I so hoped that the glitch didn't infect you with it's… glitchiness. Tell me, have you been racing slower lately?"

"What do you mean?" Rancis gasped. Vanellope, infecting him? She wouldn't do it on purpose… would she? She did say she wished that he could stay with her more… But she couldn't mean it that way!

"I didn't want to tell any of you this, because I was afraid you all might act rashly about it…" King Candy sighed, the very image of a benevolent leader forced to bear a heavy burden. "But the more positive contact you have with a glitch, the higher the chance of the glitch spreading to you. That's why I warn you all to stay away from it- so that you can all remain happy and healthy, free of glitching."

"Have you told her that?" Rancis asked. "Surely she'd stay away if you simply explained-"

"Glitches do not think like you or me." King Candy explained. "They are all malicious in nature, even if they do not seem like it at first. This- _Vanellope_" he grimaced, as if saying a bad word "does not care for this game, for racing at all, or even for you, even if it acts or says anything to the contrary. All it wants to do is to destroy. And that's what would happen, if it became a racer. Even if it was no longer a glitch, it would still go out of its way to destroy us all."

Rancis bowed his head. "I- I understand what you're saying, but…" He trailed off, blushing. Thankfully, His Majesty only chuckled. "I understand completely. The heart wants what the heart wants."

He came down from his throne, resting a hand on Rancis's shoulder, gently steering him out the door. "Why don't you just go home and sleep on it. I promise you; all thoughts of the glitch being your friend will be gone in the morning."

Rancis's eyelids drooped, and he nodded sleepily. "You're right, You're Majesty. You're always right."

King Candy patted him on the back, and then sent him out the door with a handful of peanut butter cups. As soon as the doors shut however, his kindly smile turned into a scowl.

How dare that little glitch try and turn the racers against him?! This was the third time this year that he had to send that peanut butter flavored pest away, erasing his memories afterwards. Of course, he wasn't the only one. All the racers came by at least once, even Taffyta who complained that 'it wasn't any fun having a rival she couldn't race!'

He deleted all the old back stories, but it seemed that they seemed to subconsciously resurface every once in a while. Just last week he had to console the freak in the stupid hat about her inability to ski. Who would even _want_ to slide down a pile of snow when she had cars to race?!

Turbo grumbled as he called for Sour Bill. He needed to go to the code room _again_ and erase all the racers memories once more, as well as get rid of that damned train track, so there would be no more stupid ideas about codes, and making the glitch a real racer. And, of course, he'd need to hold meetings with all the racers on _why_ the glitch is terrible and wants to ruin the game.

Sometimes, it was hard being the king.

**I might write a sequel to this, with everybody getting their memories back when Vanellope crossed the finish, both the preprogramed ones and the ones they built during the game which Turbo erased... if I get enough interest in it, anyway.**


End file.
